A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

Prevention

Combination of Social Media, Behavior Psychology Leads to HIV Testing, Better Health Behaviors 

Sep. 6, 2013 - Can social media be used to create sustainable changes in health behavior?

A UCLA study published Sept. 3 in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrates that an approach that combines behavioral science with social media and online communities can lead to improved health behaviors among men at risk of HIV infection.

Science

Improved Adherence to Preventive Antiretroviral Therapy May Reduce Transmission of HIV 

Sep. 10, 2013 - A recently completed substudy of a larger clinical trial found that pre-exposure prophylaxis -- a new strategy to prevent HIV infection by prescribing a daily antiretroviral drug to at-risk individuals -- can be a powerful tool when participants take their medications. The trial of this strategy, also called PrEP, enrolled uninfected individuals in East Africa with an HIV-positive sexual partner and found that a combination of objective monitoring of how often participants took their daily medications and intensive counseling of those with lower rates of adherence prevented any HIV infection among those receiving active medication during an average follow-up period of nearly one year.

No Adverse Effects in Volunteers Following Phase I Clinical Trial of Sumagen AIDS Vaccine 

Sumagen Canada Inc and Western University has announced that the Phase I Clinical Trial (SAV CT 01) of the first and only preventative HIV vaccine based on a genetically modified killed whole virus (SAV001-H) has been successfully completed with no adverse effects in all patients. Antibody production was also boosted after vaccination.

Synthetic Polymer Could Stop the Spread of HIV 

A precisely designed macromolecule that mimics the binding of HIV to immune system cells could be used to stop the virus from physically entering the body, according to a new study led by a materials scientist at Queen Mary University of London.

Testing and Diagnostics

HIV: Predicting Treatment Response More Accurately 

Sep. 2, 2013 - The HI virus is feared, not least, because of its great adaptability. If the virus mutates at precisely the point targeted by a drug, it is able to neutralise the attack and the treatment fails. To minimize these virus defence mechanisms, doctors treat patients with modern combination therapies involving the simultaneous administration of several drugs. This approach forces the virus to run through a series of mutations before it becomes immune to drugs.

Miscellaneous

The Affordable Care Act Finally Unrolls the Carpet 

How you can find health insurance coverage for 2014.

Fourth Porn Actor Reportedly Latest to Contract HIV 

Another porn actor has allegedly come forward after testing positive for HIV, marking the fourth case in the last month, according to an AIDS advocacy group that promotes legislation requiring condoms in pornography.

Grocery Store Worker May Have Infected 300 People with HIV, Prosecutor Says 

KANSAS CITY - A Missouri man was arraigned Thursday on charges that he recklessly infected a sexual partner with the virus that causes AIDS, and a prosecutor said he potentially could have infected 300 more people in two states.

Legendary DJ Mister Cee Grapples with Homophobia in Hip-Hop 

Yesterday the legendary hip-hop DJ Mister Cee resigned from his 20-year post at New York City's Hot 97 after a male video blogger named Bimbo Winehouse released audio of a man who sounds like the DJ soliciting sex for money. Born Calvin LeBrun, Mister Cee had been arrested previously for soliciting sex from transgender prostitutes. 

Naming the Shame Surrounding Trans Women 

If Mr. Cee's resignation has proven anything, it's that many of us continue to base our conversations about trans women on a sense of shame and secrecy-and a troubling, unnecessary urge to pathologize certain attractions. As writer and activist Janet Mock points out in a critical essay today, the conversation about Mr. Cee isn't one about "soliciting sex from someone he perceived as a trans woman;" it's about a pervading ideology that questions the mere existence of trans women:

'Obamacare' Turns From GOP Uniter to Internal Divider 

Opposition to Obamacare has united the GOP for the past four years, but now it's threatening to become a central fault line in the party's simmering war.

POZ Interview: Older and Wiser 

As featured in the September 2013 issue of POZ, Kim Hunter, Cesar Carrasco, Perry Halkitis and all the others who have lived with HIV/AIDS 25 years or more are battle-scarred and full of survival savvy.

Selling Health Care Reform 

The long years of Republican obstruction and obfuscation on health care reform have taken their toll. More than half of Americans still say they don't know how they and their families will be affected by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll, about the same percentage as in 2010. More Americans have a negative view of the act than a positive one.

Uneven Rollout of Medicaid Expansion Leaves HIV, AIDS Patients in Limbo 

In states that aren't participating, thousands could miss chance for expanded coverage.